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Pull out the spark plugs and check for oil on the spark plugs. If you do have oil on the spark plugs, the valve seals are leaking. The top of the engine has to be taken apart to repair it. If this is not the problem, then the oil rings on the pistons are worn out and leaking oil into the combustion chamber. This is a very expensive repair.

Pull the spark plugs to see which cylinder is burning the oil. The spark plug will be black or even wet with oil. There are three main reasons an engine will burn oil. 1) worn piston rings, 2) leaking valve stem seals and 3) a bad PCV valve.

If you are referring to tubes as the tube where the spark plugs are
installed then you probably have worn out gaskets at the base of the
tubes. If you pull the spark plug wire out and remove a spark plug,
you'll probably find the plug is soaked in oil. I suspect you'll have
to remove the valve cover to replace these gaskets/seals.

You are in luck you can fix both at the same time. Disconnect battery Pull off engine cover. Remove air cleaner housing and tube. Remove speed control and accelerator cables remove every bracket from the intake manifold. Remove the ten or so screws holding the intake on Remove dipstick tube bolt. Remove any wires and hoses. Lift it off and that is where the front 3 spark plugs are. Unbolt coils on top of each spark plug and 1/2 turn and pull off. Blow or vacuum everything from the spark plug tubes. Spray penetrating oil down by the plugs and let it soak. Turn the plug a 1/2 turn then turn it back down then out then in so the threads clean themselves remember they were in there for 100,000 miles. Make sure you replace them with platinum or iridium plugs

The oil is probably leaking into the spark plug wells from the seals at the bottom of the pipes that constitute the wells. The wells may pull out with the plugs removed and have a seal at the top, but the bottom of the pipes may have been damaged if they are held in place by the plugs. Another method is to hold the pipes in place in the head with 'o' ring seals and these may have developed a leak, allowing oil from the tappet cover to get into the plug well.

Do you notice a puddle under the car? Or smoking when you shut it off? The rocker cover gaskets are the culprit. If you have the spark plugs in a well inside the rocker cover, the will fill up with oil and also leak out the back. You can replace the gaskets, a fairly easy job, you have to pull everything off the top of the engine to get the covers off. And they give you the new seals for the spark plug well with the gasket kit. They only go about 10 years, I replaced mine and they are starting to leak again. Hope this helps.

1.) put aside about $50 that you are ging to spend... period
2.) drain the oil and remove the old oil filter
3.) install a new oil filter, add new 30W oil
4.) remove all 8 spark plug wire from the 8 spark plugs
5.) remove the 8 spark plugs
6.) spray about 5 seconds of WD40 into each of 8 spark plug holes
7.) spray the remainder of the can into each of the 2 valve covers thru the EGR holes (pull out the EGR valve first)
8.) making certain that you have a full battery charge, turn the starter switch to START for about 5 seconds... if your engine turns then your internals are not frozen... that's good
9.) open another can of WD40 and spray equal amounts into ecah of 8 spark plug holes a second time
10.) turn the start switch on for another 5 seconds and listen for strange sounds... by the way without the spark plugs the engine will rotate more quickly than you normally expect... not a problem because as it turns it is lubricating your internal parts
11.) wait a minute and then turn it on for for about 10-20 seconds while listening for scraping or knocking sounds... if none heard then you are all lubed up and ready to reinstall the spark plugs.
Install new plugs or sandpaper the old with the correct gap ( I believe .035")
12.) if you didn't mark the plug wires not a problem... Google '78 Chevy Distributor Firing Order to find terminal #1 on the distributor cap... usually about the 1 o'clock position
13.) install #1 wire to #1 sparkplug... the driver's side front closest to the radiator
14.) the distributor rotates like a clock (clockwise) and the numbers on the clock starting at #1 is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2.... this is the firing order in a clockwise direction
15.) take the next plug wire #8 and connect it to #8 spark plug
Note: the spark plug numbers are cast into the top of the intake manifold for easier identification
16.) conect the remaining wires to their respective plugs
17.) make certain that you have a full battery charge, some gas in the tank (gas evaporates over 3 years) and a full radiator.
18.) Turn the starter switch and listen for the engine to start
19.) If it doesn't start the first time, try again and wait for the gas to reach the carburetor.... try again
20.) if it still doesn't start spray some engine strating fluid into the carbuetor throat and try again... it should start
21.) if it starts but doesn't keep running then repeat step 20. unitl the gas reaches the carburetor and continues to run on its own...!

If the oil on the spark plug was on the outside top of the plug,
you probably have a leaky valve cover gasket. If your
car has not been tuned up recently, you may be ready for
a major tune-up and compression check. I would also check your dip stick if it's milky then you also have a bad head gasket.